Question Time

Defence State

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:01): My question is to the Premier. Is Labor committed to ensuring that South Australia remains the defence state? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: It has been reported that at least 800 troops from two combat units currently based in South Australia are being transferred interstate.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:01): I think the Leader of the Opposition knows all too well that the answer to his question is, yes, South Australia absolutely is the defence state and I think it will be for many, many decades to come because the pipeline of work that is now committed and coming South Australia's way is so substantial that the question is no longer where is the work coming from, but the question is how do we meet the demand that is there. That is a real challenge, which I am happy to speak to potentially in another question or at another time.

The state government is aggressively pursuing the strategy of making South Australia the defence state, as has been the bipartisan position now across a number of governments, and we appreciate the bipartisan support the policy enjoys.

In respect of the announcement on the back of the Defence Strategic Review and the movement of infantry troops, namely, the 7RAR, to which the Leader of the Opposition refers, yes, initially when reports emerged—and I think this has been discussed previously in this place—the potential for 7RAR being relocated back to Darwin emerged. Naturally, I picked up the phone to my friend the Deputy Prime Minister of the nation and sought detail on this issue.

Naturally, he was unable to provide that on the phone, particularly given the national security nature of the conversation, but what I was able to do over the phone was affirm the position that is well known in any event, and that is that if South Australia were to experience a change in policy that resulted in a net reduction in the number of people employed by the Defence Force in South Australia, they could expect a very firm response from the government actively opposing such a move. I made that abundantly clear on the phone, as I do repeatedly through the media and any other opportunity I get.

One thing that won't be happening during the life of this government is a sense of subservience to the Prime Minister or a federal Labor government. I don't really care who is in charge federally, the Coalition or Labor, when it comes to decisions around defence policy—if they undermine the state, we will call it out; if they support the state, we will actively welcome it.

In respect of the movement of 7RAR, the unfortunate element of that movement is of course that we see a dilution in the number of infantry troops based in South Australia for a period before it escalates in the medium term back up. The time line that we have received as a state government, the advice that I have received, is that numbers will start creeping back up not too long after we start to see 7RAR troops leave the state, namely, in 2025.

Very quickly then we reacquire the position that we have, the status quo terms in numbers. But the big opportunity isn't just the number of troops staying the same in the medium term. What matters far more is that we are now establishing a brand-new 10^th Brigade that will have its home in Adelaide. It will be the home of the long-range fire unit, which is a highly technologically advanced unit that will create demand for the defence industry beyond the Army personnel themselves. That is a real opportunity that will in actual fact leave the state in better terms than is currently the case in terms of the status quo.

What we will do progressively over the immediate years ahead, including during the life of this parliament, is make sure that the commonwealth honour the commitments they have made to the people of South Australia today and, provided they meet those commitments, it will be a better outcome for our state.